Apparatus for making fluid couplings



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Sept. 23, 1941. A M|HA|LOFF -f 2,256,988

APPARATUS FOR MAKING FLUID COUPLINGS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D90. 9, 1958E. w R w T A m M M, M

l Sept 23, 1941- A. MlcHAlLoFF 2,256,988

APPARATUS FOR MAKNG FLUID COUPLINGS Filed Dec. 9, 19:58 s sheetssneet 'slA T T ORNE Ys- Patented Sept. 23. 1941 APPARATUS FOR MAKING FLUIDCOUPLIN Alexander Michalloi, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.,

assignor to Chrysler Corporation, Highland Park, Mich., a corporation ofDelaware Application December 9, 1938, Serial No. 244,757

3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for making fluid couplings.

More particularly, it pertains to apparatus for quickly and economicallywelding the vane members of the coupling to the bottom and sides of thedished portions of the impeller and runner respectively.

Briefly, fluid couplings consist of a pair of rotatable members, i. e.,a primary or impeller member and a secondary or runner member. In use,the impeller is connected to the drive shaft of the prime mover and therunner is connected to a power output shaft. For some time it has beenrealized that iiuid couplings possess advantages which make themparticularly adaptable for use in automotive vehicles, as well as foruse in general industrial applications, but their relatively greatweight and high cost has retarded their development for such purposes.

It is the principal object of the present invention to overcome theabove mentioned diillculties by providing apparatus for manufacturingiiuid couplers quickly and economically, which vcoupling is light inweight but strong enough to withstandv the severe operating conditionswhich it is required to undergo.

Another object of the-invention is to provide apparatus for welding thefluid directing vanes to the coupling members in a rapid and inexpensivemanner.

For a specific embodiment of the invention, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate likeelements in the following description:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view axially through a fluid coupling of the typementioned herein.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing the positions ofthe parts during the' first welding operation. A

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

4 is a sectional view along the line 4-4 of Fig. 5 is a perspective viewof the apparatus showing the positions of the parts during the secondwelding operation. l

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the apparatus showing the positions ofthe parts `during the third welding operation.

Fig. 'I is a perspective view of the apparatus showing the positions ofthe-various parts during the fourth welding operation.

Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11 are sectional views through the coupler elementshowing the welds performed by the operations illustrated in Figs. 2, 5and 6, respectively.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary plan view of the coupler element before thetorus ring has been installed.

Fig.` 13 is a fragmentary plan view of the coupler element after thetorus ring has been installed.

Fig. 14 is a view in section of another type of Welding apparatuswhichis utilized for securing together the two parts of the impellerhousing.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view of the apparatus showing thepositions of the parts during ,the welding of the torus ring in place.

In the fluid coupling illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, which isgenerally designated by the numeral IIL a driving shaft II is drivinglyconnected by bolts tothe impeller or driving member I4 of the coupling.The impeller f I4 has starter teeth I5 around its outer periphery whichare adapted to mesh with the usual engine starting device (not shown).

The driven shaft I2 corresponds to the driving shaft which ordinarilyconnects the clutch of a motor' vehicle to the transmission mechanismthereof. The runner or driven member I3 of the fluid coupling isdrivingly connected to the shaft I2 by means of the splines I5. Therunner member I3 is mounted for rotational movement relative to theimpeller I4 by means of the anta-friction bearing I6.

Both the impeller and runner members have" annularly dished workingchambers I'I and I8 respectively, in which are disposed a plurality ofradially extending vanes I9 (see Fig. 12) which form a plurality ofradial passages 20 through which the pressure fluid circulates as iswell known in the art.

The vortex chamber 23 oi' the coupler is formed by a pair oftrough-shaped annuli 24 and 25 which are welded to cut out portions ofthe vanes of the impeller and runner respectively. An annularreinforcing member 26 is welded to the outside'of the runner 'I3 at 21..

The impeller Il has a complementmy housing portion 2 I, welded theretoat 22, which forms an enclosure for the working parts of the coupling.

If desired, ,the annuli 24 and 25 which form Fig. 2 illustrates theposition of the runner I2 ,with respect to the welding apparatus at thetime of the rst operation. As is apparent from the figures, each of thevanes l! is provided with three welding-tabs It", Il and i9respectively, which are formed integrally therewith and bent at rightangles thereto. l Preparatory to the first welding operation, the runnervanes i! are assembled upside down, in their respective properpositions, in the grooves 2l of ilxture 2l. The fixture 2l consists ofan aluminum ring of such size and shape that it will readily fit insidethe runner (see Fig. 3). 'I'he ring 2l has a plurality of radial grooves2l' spaced equally around its bottom side (see Figs. 2 and 3). Ring 28is also provided with a plurality of holes 29 through which the" upperwelding electrode 30 isI adapted to be inserted, and a plurality ofdrill spots Il which are adapted to receive the index ball at the bottomof the adjustable indexing arm 22. The number of holes 29 and drillspots 3| kmust correspond tothe number of grooves 28' in ring 28. In theillustrated example thirty grooves, holes and spots are provided becausethere are thirty vanes in the runner.

In assembling the varies preparatory to the first welding operation, thealuminum ring 28 is placed on a bench with the grooved side turnedupwardly and a vane member is placed in each groove and properlyoriented therein. The runner shell I3 is then dropped over thewholeassembly and the assembly is turned over and placed on the platen 34 ofythe welding apparatus, which is designated generally by the numeral I5,where it is retained thereon by the hub ll and the clamps 31. The hub'38 and clamps 3l are so constructed that they provide a rigid supportfor the runner assembly yet allow rotation thereof about hub 36. Theball 2i of the indexing arm 32 is then dropped into one of the drillspots 3l and the runner assembly is ready for the first.

welding operation which consists of welding the tab i8 of each' of thevanes to the bottom of the runner shell.

The lower welding electrode Il isarranged coaxially with the upperelectrode Il and is addusted so that it will contact with the outsidesurface of the runner shell at al1 times.

In performing the first operation on the runner the sequence ofoperations is' as follows: The upper electrode II is lowered through oneof the holes 2l into contact with tab Il of one of the vanes IO (seePig. 4). This may-be accomplished by means of 'a fluid pressure cylinderoperated by a foot treadle as' is customaryin welding practice, or byother means. As the electrode 3l contacts tab Il", the' electricalcircuit is automatically completed and the welding current.

flows through the electrodes Il and 3l and through the tab i9 and theshell i3 thereby making a spot weld. The operator then releases the foottreadle (or other control means) and the electrode Il is withdrawn fromthe hole 20. The arm l33 is then lifted, withdrawing the ball I2 fromthe drill spot 3l, andthe entire assembly is rotated around hub 36 toposition the next circumferentially adjacent hole 29 beneath theelectrode 30. The latter operation is accomplished in a semi-automaticmanner inasmuch as the ball I2 will drop into the next circumferentiallyadjacent drill spot 2|, if the arm 33 is dropped immediately after theassembly is rotated suihciently to prevent ball 32 from dropping backinto the same spot that it was withdrawn from. In the modificationshown, the assembly will, of course, be rotated one-thirtieth of arevolution because there are thirty vanes to be welded. The runnerassembly is now in position for another weld to be made and the abovedetailed sequence of operations is repeated successively until all ofthe vanes Il have been welded to the runner shell il at the point I.(see Fig. 8).

Fig. 5 shows the position oi' the runner assembly during the secondwelding operation during which the tabs l2' are welded to runner shelladjacent its outer rim (see Fig. 9). It will be noted in Fig. 5 that thealuminum ring 2l has been removed, it no longer being necessary becausethe vanes I9 are now firmly fixed in place by the weld I9". The platenIl has been pivoted upwardly about its support Il to such position thatthe tabs i9* may be brought successively into line with the electrodes30 and 'Il in a manner similar to that illustrated in Fig. 4. Theindexing arm 3l has been removed from the platen and another indexingarm 4I has been substituted against which the vane to be welded islocated each time a weld is made. It will be understood that .the tabsIl* are welded, each in succession, in a manner similar to thatdescribed above ln connection with the welding of the tabs Il. y

After tabs il* have been welded, the platenv is swung downwardly aboutits pivot axis u as shown in Fig. 6 in preparation for the third weldingoperation which consists of welding each of the tabs I9 and thereinforcing ring 2l to the runner shell near its central opening.

As shown in Fig. 6, the lower electrode Il is adjusted to protrudeupwardly through the cutout portion 36 of the hub and into contact withthe reinforcing ring 2t at a point directly beneath one of the tabs i9.The same technique is followed in this operation as was followed abovein making the weld l, but in this case. the welding current passesthrough the ring 2l as well as through the runner shell and the vane 1tab, thereby resulting in the simultaneous welding of the ring and tabto the shell. The reinforcing ring 2l is welded to the shell in as manyplaces as there are vanes (thirty in this embodiment) thereby providinga strong and rigid structure.

The fourth welding operation consists in welding the torus ring 2l inplace. For this operation (see Fig. l5) the runner is preferably removedto a specialapparatus which is generally similar to the weldingapparatus described above but differs in a few details. The runner isheld in place upon the apparatus by means of a nbre adapter '4I whichinsulates the runner from the metal parts thereof. The bottom electrodeIl* has a shoe 3l" on which the bottom oi the runner shell that isadjacent the welding sone rests. A nbre insulating washer 42 insulatesthe electrode and shoe from the metal parts. The toms ring is pressednrmly in place by the spring pressed fibre pad 4I which is mounted onthefixture supporting the upper welding electrode Il", as shown in Fig. l5.The torus ring is welded, to each of the vanes 2l by successivelybringing the electrode 30' into contact with the torus ring at a pointdirectly over each of the vanes and applying eurent for a timesuillclent to make the weld.- Suitable indexing means such as that shownin Figs. 5 and 6 maybe used. In this operation the welding currentpasses from the electrode 30 to the shoe 38" through the vane Il.

The impeller I4 is assembled and welded in a manner similar to thatvdescribed above in connection with the runner except of course, theimpeller has no reinforcing ring similar to member 26 so the thirdWelding operation on the impeller involves only the welding of the vanetab to the shell. The mpeller hub member 43 is welded to the outer sideof the member by a pair of seam welds designated as 44 and 44 in Fig. 1of the drawings.

After the various parts of the runner and impeller have been welded inplace, the two members are assembled together with the complementaryhousing member 2| of the impeller upon a jig as shown in Fig. 14. A ring45 provided with an integral ridge 46 on its outer periphery isassembled with the members in such manner that the ridge 46 separatesthe members I4 and` 2l as shown in Figs'. 1 and 14. Ring 45 prevents thearc which' is usually present along the irregular edge portions of thehousing I4 and 2l during the welding period from entering the interiorof the coupler and causing damage. It forms a reinforcement in thecompleted structure.

The water cooled annular electrodes 41 and 48 are adapted to contact themembers I4 and 2| along their entire periphery in the vicinity of thering 45 and are adjusted to urge the members I4 and 2l toward each otherwhile current is applied for a time sufficient to form a strong weldbetween the ridge 46 and each of the members I4 and 2I.

The above descriptionv isv intended to be illustrative only, it beingunderstood that various modifications in the apparatus and/or techniqueemployed may be made Without departing from the spirit or the scope ofthe invention as defined in the claims annexed-hereto.

I claim: 1. A fixture for holding a plurality of sheet metal vanemembers While said members are bel ing welded to the inner dishedportion of an anfon the other side of said member and adapted forengagement by indexing mechanism during Welding.

2. A fixture for holding a plurality of sheet metal vane members whilesaid members are being welded to the inner dished portion of an annularhousing member comprising an annular member provided von one surfacethereof with a series of radially extending slots circumferentiallyspaced around the axis thereof, a series of holes extending axiallythrough said member adjacent said slots for accommodating insertion ofthe welding tool, and a series of drill spots disposed around said axisin radial alignment with said holes in the opposite surface thereof,said spots being ada;J ed for engagement by indexing mechanism.

3. A fixture for .facilitating the manufacture I of fluid couplings andthe like, comprising an annular member provided with a series ofradially extending slots spaced circumferentially around the axisthereof and adapted to receive sheet metal vanes thereby to hold thesame in position for welding to a dished housing, Aa series of holesdisposed adjacent said slots for accommodating insertion of a weldingtool, and a plurality of indexing spots arranged around the axis of saidmember on one side thereof.

ALEXANDER MICHAILOFF.

